CCW

Are there any skills you want to try, but have been banned from doing by your coach? (mine is my axel-- I got caught trying a few and am not allowed to try them until my coach says it's okay... it's a constant fight!)

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"Without a struggle, there can be no progress" ~ Frederick Douglass

Not exactly- but I'd love to learn more of the international dances. The problem is, they adopted a bunch of new ones in 1995 or 1996, so my coach never had to do them (he had retired from competing and testing by then). I'm only like the second student he's had since then at the Silver/Pre-Gold level, so he hasn't had to teach them before either. It's not an issue for at least another year, probably more like two, but I am going to likely have to go to another coach to learn them. Luckily, I know two excellent coaches in the area who could teach them to me when the time comes.

BTW, glad to know I'm not the only person who buys dresses and then rarely wears them! It's totally uncool at my rink to wear dresses if you're older than, like, 10, so I plan to wear all of mine at camp in Lake Placid!

Have you ever gone to any type of seminar/training camp?

I've been to a Kathy Casey seminar at my rink. Janet Champion came and taught the spins, MITF, and "expressing music" sections. Kathy did mostly jumps and general stroking stuff with us. They split the adults into a single group, which was tough because there were varying degrees of skills, but it was better than being lumped in with the kids. It was a blast!

Does your coach teach one or multiple disciplines? Mine specializes in dance (which I hate), but also teaches freestyle and MITF quite well.

My coach does MITF, freestyle and dance. Mostly MITF and freestyle, I think, which he does very well. I don't dance, so I don't know how he does at that - but with his extensions and edges, I'm sure he does quite well.

I just put tape on my skates to protect them from nicks and scratches - do you tape and does it help?

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"The only place where success comes before work is in a dictionary." -- Vidal Sasson

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway." -- Unknown

I've never taped. I probably should, as it would have prevented a lot of the nicks and scratches I've gotten from freestyle, but more from synchro.

How often do you polish your skates. Honestly, I've been skating almost 10 years, and I've only polished a pair of my skates once! It's something I never think of to do.

Once in a blue moon. Which is why I compete in over-the-boot tights.

Do you have anything dangling from your skate bag? I have a keychain tag from the Buffet-Crampon clarinet company (which explains my screen name - clarinet and ice skating are my two great passions in life!).

Yup, I have a keyring toy of Zippy hanging from the zip, one of the characters from kids TV show Rainbow (which I loved when I was little).

What type of music do you prefer to skate to? Slow, upbeat, classical, poppy, unusual, instrumental, etc?

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"It’s never too late to skate at any age." - Alexei Mishin.

Unusual, I think. Something that showcases such skills as I have, and disguises my lack of them!

If you had to choose, would you rather test or compete?

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

I would rather compete. I like the interaction and the fact that it isn't just "against the book". I enjoy my friends I have met at competitions (going back to an earlier question, Skaternum gave me the great advice before skating my freestyle program in DC "Don't Suck" ;-)

That said, I am glad I don't have to choose! I enjoy working on tests.

How many coaches have you had and how did you change if you have? (I have never changed coaches, even on roller. The only way I have left a coach has been by moving)

More times than I care to remember! A couple have moved away; one stayed in the area but started teaching at a rink I didn't like, so I chose to stay at the same rink and find someone else; same story with one coach I really liked but the rink she was going to was too far away for me; one dropped me from his schedule when he got "overloaded" (he was taking on new students within two weeks, but I would have had to switch soon anyway because he moved within a year), and there were others even further back.

What made you want to start skating?

Watching Torvill & Dean's free dance performance in the 1994 Olympics. It took me 7 years to start skating though, because there wasn't a nearby rink. That performance is definitely what made me want to skate though.

If you could only watch one performance from each discipline again, EVER, which would you choose? I've thought about it, and although it's really difficult, I'd probably choose:
Torvill & Dean - 94 Olympics FD (Let's Face The Music and Dance)
Berezhnaya & Sikharulidze - 99 Worlds EX (Impossible Dreams)
Michelle Kwan - 96 Worlds LP (Salome)
Stephane Lambiel - 02 Europeans LP (Cirque de Soleil)

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"It’s never too late to skate at any age." - Alexei Mishin.

G&G Moonlight Sonnata
MK National's long program performance in Philly. I was there, and it was amazing.
Brian Boitano's eagle program - Elegy for Harp and Strings
Dance - the team from Finland - Finlandia.

From whom would you like a lesson? For me - Dorothy Hamill

Shae-Lynn Bourne (obvious choice, for me) or Katia Gordeeva (I've always wanted to try pairs).

Of your own programs, what was the music of your favorite one?

The Grand Valse from Chopin's score for the ballet Les Sylphides. It was a beautiful arrangement, well-cut, and perfect for me.

To turn it completely around, what music have you ever used that now makes you just cringe because it's so, so wrong? (Not just tired of it, but actually appalled that you thought at some point it was worth skating to.)

Bolero. This was before the Torvil & Dean program, BTW. I love the music to listen to, but to skate to, well it wasn't the best for me.

I'm having a terrible time finding music for this year's technical program. I have an interp picked out already. How long does it usually take you to settle on a piece of music you like?

__________________
"The only place where success comes before work is in a dictionary." -- Vidal Sasson

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway." -- Unknown

Ages, and then I usually change my mind a whole bunch of times before I finally decide.

What piece of music has an elite skater used that you would like to use? I've wanted to skate to Riverdance ever since Shae-Lynn and Victor did, and I'm probably going to use it for an ISI footwork program this year.

Most recently, the Adagio piece the Shae and Vic used last year. That is exactly the kind of music I love to skate to.

What's your worst habit when it comes to skating technique?

According to my coach, not bringing my feet together. But he also bawled me out yesterday for "relaxing" half-way down each length: "You start off really well, and then you relax! Now do it again, and this time keep it going all the way down!"

What is your least favourite exercise?

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

If you are talking about off ice exercises, for me it would be sit-ups. Yuck. I don't do them, and I really should...

Have you ever seen your coach skate?

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"The only place where success comes before work is in a dictionary." -- Vidal Sasson

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway." -- Unknown

Yes I have. We've even gone to open sessions together to skate. We helped each other with our jumps and such. My mom even picked her to be my coach after she guest skated at my club's carnival. I loved watching her skate that much!

What is your biggest accomplishment so far in your skating?

Hmmm. <sarcasm> There are so many to choose from. </sarcasm> I'd have to say making it to my final round at Adult Nationals the first time I went. And seeing that one of my skating friends had also made the same final round. It was a thrill to get to call my coach and tell him. He was tickled pink!

Have you ever had to take time off from skating for something other than an injury?

Yes, I had to take three months off for a serious illness and surgery.

How many coaches have you had so far?

Three, if you mean private lesson coaches. I started skating in Feb 01 with group lessons. In September 01, I started privates with my first coach. In summer 02, he left to go to another rink. I started privates with 2 other coaches - one freestyle, one dance. The rink closed in March 03, and I haven't had a coach since. I've only had one lesson in that time.

Do you have any pieces of music that you really, really want to skate to one day - but not yet? I have three. I want to wait before I use them though, because I want to be able to do elements like double jumps, axels and great spins in them. (I've already choreographed parts of them, lol)

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"It’s never too late to skate at any age." - Alexei Mishin.

Yes, I'd love to do an interpretive of the song "My name is Luka", but I really don't skate well enough yet - if ever.

What is your least favourite on-ice exercise/drill? I think I hate back outside swing rolls.....

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Accelerando...If you've never heard of it, it's this tape of a drum beat that starts slow, and gets faster and faster and faster and you have to try to do crossovers along with the beat until you just about fall over from going so fast. It's horrible!!!

Here's my question...When you go away to a competition and stay at a hotel, do you go in the pool or hot tub, even though you have to skate the next day? I do, even though we're not supposed to. That hot tub is just too tempting at the end of a long day.